Why are
there so many Gods in Hinduism ? Is idol worship stupid? Is God inside us or
outside us? Is He Everywhere? Then why do some people choose a stone to worship
? Why can’t all of us pray in the same way?
In explaining the first Kural, Parimelazhagar answers these questions
drawing from the Siddhantham Literature.
People are of different kinds. We see differences between siblings, husbands
and wives, parents and children. For some of us, logic and reasoning are the
driving force in life. For some of us, our emotions rule our lives. I think we
know what kind we are. Is it possible to have a single way of approaching God ?
Eg: Imagine a school that had only one class, one lesson plan and one teacher
for all students. This school admits students from the age of five to ninety
all in the same class. How effective will the teaching be? Siddhantham didn’t believe
it was a good idea, so they put forth a four step approach.
They said that all worship will have to start with the external worship.
It is impossible for someone to just close their eyes and be one with God
without prior training in the external worship method. If someone is able to do
that, it means they have had such a training in their previous birth.
The four steps are 1) External worship Or Sariyai 2)External-Internal
Worship - Or Kiriyai, 3) Fully Internal Worship or Yogam and 4)
Becoming one with the Supreme or Gnanam. The following example will help
understand better.
In many
families we will see the parents tell the children to fold their hands or kneel
down and pray. The child will do it automatically without understanding the
meaning. Many youngsters are also like this. While going in the bike or cycle
when they come across a temple, they will gently bow and give a cursory salute.
This is the external form or Sariyai worship and there is nothing wrong
with it. It is a necessary first step.
Now imagine that the boy grows up, and gets married and is expecting his
first child. Now the pregnant wife is in the operation theater and the doctor
says that the situation is critical and only one life can be saved. The young
husband goes to the church/temple and with folded arms and tears in eyes asks
God to save both lives. His relationship with the Almighty just deepened. The manam
which gave a cursory bow to the idol now touches a new meaning behind the idol.
Now, he has touched the next level. This is the Kiriyai level of
worship, where the external worship touches the internal worship.
At the third level, there is no need for a picture or idol of God. A
person can simply sit and close their eyes, and the temple comes to them. This
is Yogam.
The final destination is Gnanam wherein comes the oneness with
the Supreme Power. This will lead one to Veedu.
So we all start at the Sariyai level and gradually go up to reach
the Gnanam level. There is no need to criticize any one for their way of
worship because we are all walking towards the same goal. At the kindergarten
level a child will learn to add two numbers by stretching the fingers in both
hands and counting slowly. At the college level, the same student gives the
answer to an addition problem in a heartbeat. With proper training the kindergarten student will get there eventually. So all us in Sariyai level will get to the Gnanam level some day.
Because of this variety in people, God also has been described in many
ways. Broadly speaking, Siddhantam says that God has two states of
being. The first state is called Swaroopam. This is the truest form,
which humans cannot comprehend and hence cannot be described by words. We
cannot measure an ocean using a small cup. So it is not possible to describe
the Superior Power using our limited language. It is for each of us to
experience at the end of our journey. We must first accept the presence of such
a power. Whether it is Jesus, or Allah or Nature, whatever, it exists, that’s
all.
Then what is the use of such a God who can neither be understood nor be
described?
He has a another state of being called Thadathai which humans can
describe in their vocabulary. In Thadathai, God comes down in three different
forms for humans to understand.
At the first level God comes down in the formless state for those people who are high on logic and
reasoning. They don’t need a form or a shape to understand things. Their brain
works differently, they find it comfortable to believe that God is everywhere,
and there is no need for a temple or statue that would limit His presence. For
them God comes down in the formless state. This state of God is called Aruvam
state (Aruva Nilai in Tamil). Such a worship is called Aruvam
worship. People on the Yogam Path worship God in the Aruvam state.
At the second level God comes down in a semi-form state. This is for people for whom it is necessary to have
some form, not necessarily a human form, something like the Lingam or a cross –
a symbolic representation. This is called the Aru-Uruvam style of
worship.
At the third level, God comes down in a worldly form. This is for people who need a form that they can relate
to. Maybe the form of a child that reminds us of innocence and joy, or the form
of a cow that is soft and gentle, or the
form of a powerful woman to remind of the power beyond us. We need to see that form
physically, to believe in it. That kind of worship is called Uruvam worship
(Uruvam means ‘form or shape’ in Tamil). It is below the first and
second level, in terms of closeness to the final swaroopam level, but it
is not wrong. People in the Sariyai and Kiriyai path worship God
in Uruvam and aru-uruvam states.
In the first kural, Thiruvalluvar mentions that God is everywhere. He
didn’t specify any shape or place so he is referring to a formless God. Parimelazhagar points to us that, this is the first level or the Aruvam level of worship (In the subsequent
kurals the other levels will be introduced).
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